Joining the Akatsuki

Sensing the intensification of the repulsive force ahead, Sigurd immediately bent his knees and leaped backward, attempting to escape the blast radius of the Shinra Tensei.

However, the eruption of repulsive force came too quickly and covered a larger area than Sigurd had imagined, leaving him unable to dodge in time.

Under the influence of this repulsive force, all rocks, trees, and debris were blown away, leaving behind only a barren, desolate patch of land.

Even though Sigurd avoided the direct center of the attack, he was still struck by the shockwave, which sent him flying a great distance.

Although the destruction caused by a single strike looked intimidating, in reality, it was nothing more than that.

Shinra Tensei was fine for clearing out small fry, but when it came to dealing with Kage-level experts, it was a bit stretched.

Although Sigurd's current strength was at most that of an elite Jonin, his defensive capabilities were high; if one looked solely at defense, he was definitely at the Kage level.

Against the attacks of Shinra Tensei, unless it was a point-blank Super Shinra Tensei, it was truly difficult to harm the current Sigurd.

The only things he feared now were Nagato's Chibaku Tensei and the Black Receivers that could disrupt the flow of energy within his body.

If he were struck by a Black Receiver, Sigurd wasn't sure of the exact outcome, but the possibility of his connection to his shadow clone being severed was not zero.

Although he could quickly reconnect after being disconnected, that amount of time would be enough for the enemy to seal Sigurd away.

As for Chibaku Tensei?

Nagato had come to recruit him, not to fight to the death, so he certainly wouldn't use Chibaku Tensei; therefore, there was no need to worry about it.

Seeing Sigurd almost completely unscathed, Deva Path Pain curled his fingers slightly and whispered, "Banshō Ten'in!"

Before Sigurd could regain his footing, a terrifying gravitational force descended upon him, pulling him uncontrollably toward Deva Path Pain.

Seeing the Black Receiver already in the other's hand, Sigurd felt a jolt of alarm; it was truly a case of fearing what he least wanted to happen.

Flying through the air, Sigurd hurriedly tried to control his Magic Sword to fly back into his hand, but his control over the weapon was weaker than the opponent's Banshō Ten'in.

Thus, before the Magic Sword could return to his hand, it was snatched away by the opponent's gravitational pull.

Seeing the Magic Sword flying in front of him, Sigurd steeled his heart, ignited the thrusters under his feet, and used the opponent's gravity to close the distance rapidly.

The moment his body aligned with the Magic Sword, Sigurd immediately threw a punch, striking the hilt of the sword directly.

"Magic Sword of the Sun, use your body to unleash destruction—Bolverk Gram!"

Sensing the power emanating from the opponent's Magic Sword, Deva Path Pain hurriedly canceled Banshō Ten'in and immediately used Shinra Tensei to defend.

Boom!

Following a massive explosion, Sigurd and the Magic Sword were both sent flying by the fiery blast.

Although Deva Path Pain changed his tactics quickly, he was still half a beat slow, resulting in the sleeve on his arm being completely incinerated.

Looking at his arm, which was still emitting heat, Deva Path Pain's expression turned solemn; he hadn't expected the opponent to possess such strength.

He looked at Sigurd, who was struggling to climb to his feet in the distance, and said with an arrogant air, "Have you seen it? This is the power of a god, a power that mortals can never hope to catch up to!"

Hearing this, Sigurd feigned injury and replied, "Gravity and repulsion—is this the ability of those special eyes of yours?"

Deva Path Pain replied, "Correct. These are the eyes of a god, a realm that mortals like you can never step into!"

Hearing this, Sigurd brushed the dust off his body and said, "Sigh, it seems this mortal is no match for you."

Hearing Sigurd's words, Deva Path Pain extended his hand again and said, "In that case, will you join? Or be destroyed?"

As he spoke, Sigurd slumped onto the ground and waved his hand, saying, "Since I can't beat you anyway, then I'll join. I don't want to die just yet."

Seeing that Sigurd had agreed to join, Deva Path Pain immediately took out a ring and tossed it to him.

Taking the ring, Sigurd immediately saw the character "Zhu" (Vermilion) engraved on it.

He hadn't expected Nagato to have created these communication rings so early on.

Moreover, the "Zhu" ring seemed to be the one worn by Itachi Uchiha in the original story; had he taken his spot?

Although this ring also had the function of tracking movements, Sigurd didn't hesitate and put it directly on the thumb of his right hand.

Seeing the other party put on the ring, Deva Path Pain continued, "My name is Pain. From now on, you are a core member of the organization. Your codename is Suzaku."

"Your future tasks will be arranged by Byakko. You can use the ring to communicate for any matters."

With that, Deva Path Pain turned and left.

The previous battle had damaged the Deva Path's right arm, and Nagato needed to retrieve it quickly for repairs; after all, it was the corpse of his dearest friend.

Seeing Deva Path Pain leave, Konan finally flapped her wings and slowly descended in front of Sigurd.

Seeing Konan land, Sigurd immediately teased, "Miss Byakko, the leader just left you here all alone—aren't you afraid I might suddenly turn on you?"

While speaking, Sigurd retracted the flying swords scattered around him; this wasn't a good place to absorb moonlight energy, so he had to save what he could.

Konan replied coldly, "Oh? And would you?"

In truth, it wasn't that Konan wasn't afraid, but that the person standing before Sigurd was merely a paper clone; her true body had already followed Deva Path Pain.

As for the paper clone of Konan in front of him, Sigurd truly couldn't tell; as a mechanical doll, his sensory perception had always been his fatal weakness.

He lacked the ability to scan for chakra over a wide area, capable only of short-range chakra detection at best.

Sigurd shrugged noncommittally and said, "Since I have joined you, I naturally will not betray you."

He was joking; he had gone to such lengths to join the Akatsuki that he certainly wouldn't be leaving before he had his fill of fun.

Besides, in the original Naruto story, Nagato and Konan were truly tragic figures.

Especially when Konan met her miserable end at the hands of Obito; back when he watched the anime, it had made him grit his teeth in pure hatred.

If possible, Sigurd wanted to see if he could steer Nagato's ideology back onto the right path.

Konan listened to Sigurd's words and continued, "Let's be clear: while the organization will help you resolve your troubles, if you ever betray us, the organization will hunt you to the ends of the earth! Do you understand?"

Sigurd nodded with a look of earnest sincerity to show he understood, but inwardly, he was silently mocking her.

Ends of the earth, my foot. Look at Orochimaru; he betrayed the organization, and in the end, even though the entire Akatsuki was wiped out, he was still alive and kicking.

Despite his internal grumbling, Sigurd asked on the surface, "Then, Miss Byakko, are there any missions you would like to entrust to this humble one next?"

Konan pondered for a moment upon hearing this, then said, "The organization is still in its infancy, so there isn't much use for you yet, but I have a personal question I would like to ask you."

Sigurd replied in a respectful tone, "Oh? I wonder what that question might be? It would be this humble one's honor to provide clarity for such a beautiful lady."

Konan answered, "It concerns Salamander Hanzō. You fought him at noon today, didn't you? What was your impression of him?"

Hearing this, Sigurd thought for a moment before replying in a grave and serious tone, "He is old; he is no longer worthy of the title of Demigod of the Ninja World!"